People are increasingly opting to pay for streaming options through sites like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Instant Video. Now Sony is launching a streaming service for PlayStation, for games at least!

The company announced PlayStation Now, which is a cloud-based gaming streaming service that will deliver games for gaming aficionados without having to install or download them through Sony 2014 TV sets.

On first previews, the idea seems set to create an enthralling experience like never before for PS3 and PS4 gamers. It enters open beta today, thus allowing gamers of PS4 to try gaming on demand service. One can choose from 100 different PlayStation 3 games including Ultra Street Fighter IV without download or installation since they are being sourced from Gaikai’s servers are miles away from the console.

Ambition on the Cloud!

Gaikai is aspiring to be one of the top streaming services like Netflix and Spotify for games and would unfold on pay-per-view basis without any subscription service. Gamers are expected to shell out $2 to $20 as “rent” for the streaming game for a period.

As per early reports, customers seem to be willing to pay the high prices for streaming convenience. In other words, the convenience of instantaneousness is valued more than the lack of ownership here. If that’s true for games, then it is possible that Sony’s $380 million acquisition of Gaikai could well be a business-defining move of the century.

According to their head honcho Perry, he opted to work with Sony for its big library of games that required some controls. Additionally it has worked out well for Sony since their newest PlayStation was not backward compatible with old games. Now with PlayStation 4 with streaming service, gamers can still play older games in some capacity.

Launch and Expansion

The $99-PlayStation TV is expected to stream PlayStation Now games during its launch late 2015. And as the service will eventually expand from North America to the world, so too will it migrate from PS4 to other platforms. After PS4 owners get going in this cloud version, Sony is expected to open beta to PlayStation 3 owners too. Owners of new Bravia television sets will never need a console for playing games then.

The PlayStation TV, a $99 box will be launched soon to download and play games from its PlayStation Vita handheld and through PlayStation Now.

Publishers are opting for PlayStation Now because it represents “free conversion” without the publisher having to spend much money on it.

The Future with Gaming Streaming Service

As a part of the PlayStation Pilot Service, people can play PS3 games with just a web-connected TV and a small DualShock 3 controller that is attached to the USB.

Trying games out through the service is not expected to be cheaper for most, since the prices for renting a title are expected to be in the range of $3 and $20. Sony believes that this approach would mean a fewer box is needed in the entertainment center. Also analysts presume that it is still not the end of the dedicated console. But soon, with the streaming TV service, Sony is eventually going to make sure that the only cord plugged to the TV set, is for power.

Keval Padia is the founder & CEO of Nimblechapps, a fast-growing mobile game development company. The current innovation and updates of the field lures him to express his views and thoughts on certain topics.